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Chapter 2 - Abscond (CF)
An escape from Glitzville had been on his mind for six years. While it was not impossible, Glitzville's whereabouts as a flying city over the ocean made merely exiting the city impossible. The blimp being the only method of travel outside the city unless one possessed something capable of flying was a hitch, since Chubba had paid the Cheep-Cheep blimp man to ensure that Tubba never boarded the blimp and escaped, even providing the blimp man with a fingerprint scanner. Jumping off would be suicide, something Tubba had legitimately considered. His eternal fear of death held him back. There was no one he could rely on, no one he could bribe, for all feared Chubba and his wrath in Glitzville. To go against Chubba's will would be to wish upon yourself untimely death. Chubba's ability to pay the legal systems, to pay the other Kingdoms, to keep the law away from him, made him an unparalleled force in the Mushroom World. He was above the law, a blatant display of corruption of the legal systems of the World. If Tubba was to escape the sweatshop that was Glitzville and the Glitz Pit, all he would have to rely on would be his own abilities. And that was exactly what he intended to use. Chubba had always underestimated his abilities, but Tubba knew that the best method of escaping could easily be beyond even his own expectations. It would be through harnessing electricity. The greatest Mages that had power over electricity could teleport themselves. Even greater ones could teleport other people and various groups of people, which is what Ludwig von Koopa was able to do. Tubba was far from that level six years ago, barely able to sustain a few electric shots before being struck with exhaustion. He had a chance in the first year or two to practice, but he lacked the drive. Then came the news that Clubbar had died. The elderly Clubba had been his father's Commander, and in turn, Chubba's and Mycerinus'. The Commander had left Tubba in the Glitz Pit for life, believing he had done the red Clubba a favour. The injustice that Clubbar had forwarded that night above the volcano rankled deep, and Tubba was suddenly overtaken by a fire of motivation, to not let another Clubba believe that Tubba was happy in the Glitz Pit. With Glitzville above the clouds, Tubba had chosen stormy nights after the battlers had gone to bed to execute the practice required, to mask the sound of thunder. These days were common, since Glitzville floated over a warm patch of ocean, which was conducive to creating hurricanes. So, on those nights, Tubba slipped out of the Glitz Pit, and practiced in the dark shadows behind the establishment, willing himself to teleport in a blaze of electricity. It was two years before any signs of visible progress were made. He managed to teleport five feet in a flare of white lightning, but the process completely exhausted him. He was on his knees, completely out of energy. The next year was spent building up his stamina, and slowly, teleporting was becoming easier and easier over shorter distances. But teleporting himself to Rogueport was another thing entirely. Electricity teleportation, as Tubba found out, required immense amount of focus and a rememberance of how the location one intended to teleport to looked like. Tubba had not been to Rogueport in six years. It was a hurdle that he would never be able to be overcome. Practice could make teleportation easier, could extend the distances, but to a less known place, no amount of practice would help. Still, Tubba spent the following year and a half honing his skills beyond what he had. He could teleport five feet eight times over before he even got a little tired. To reach the point of exhaustion was one thousand times. Each stormy night was spent attempting to beat those milestones, to strive higher. He could now teleport up to fifty feet almost one hundred times before he reached the collapsing point. It even strengthened his ability to use electricity as a weapon. Like all things, practice made perfect. Of course, Tubba could never let on to his brother that he was perfecting his skills to escape the Glitz Pit. The strength of his electric weaponry had increased, so he used it sparingly in battles. Being a fugitive in all the major Kingdoms of the Mushroom World demanded that he improve his hand-to-hand combat, and he was in the perfect place. Fighting against the primary species of the various Kingdoms, Tubba knew he could hold his own. He had had various teammates over the six years, but none were as close to him as Blizzerd or Gonzales, or even Shazam and Aaron for that matter. Gonzales and Blizzerd had been lost from him for six years, but Shazam and Aaron returned to the Glitz Pit alongside him. But over the ensuing years, they drifted away. Tubba was left to linger, forever indentured to his brother. That was all about to change. Tubba's abilities had opened the door of escape. It would be tonight, the night that Tubba would escape from the Glitz Pit after so many years. Tubba sat on his bed, the lights still on in the clean blue major room. Various battlers had bedded down and attempted to sleep, others still talked about the day. Tubba would just pretend to be asleep, and when Yoshi came in to turn the lights off at curfew time, he would then stride out of the room, as he had done so many times before. But this time, rather than practicing behind the Glitz Pit, just to spite his brother, he would teleport away from Glitzville in front of the red and gold-gilded office door. The only question was where to. The deciding factor was distance - Glitzville's closest ground location was Rogueport, and Tubba didn't even back himself to teleport there. There was a chance, if the teleportation went horribly wrong, he could end up severing his head from his body, or an extremity. Tubba, however, had made a choice. If he was to die, it would be escaping Glitzville. Death surely could not be worse than this. Not anymore. Yoshi popped in briefly, turning the lights off while insulting the battlers, a nightly occurrence - Yoshi and Chubba both treated their employees like dirt - Tubba being singled out for special treatment. Tubba could not suppress a slight smirk. By the time the night was out, Yoshi and Chubba would be beside themselves in fury that Tubba had got away. Twenty minutes later, Chubba, Yoshi and the rest of the battlers were rudely awoken by a loud clap of thunder and a flash of white light outside the office door.